The city of Katy had previously announced the traditional fireworks display annually held at Katy Mills mall would be canceled due to a concern for public safety in the midst of the coronavirus.
That is until Gov. Greg Abbott released a new order June 3 that allowed city officials to reconsider, Mayor Bill Hastings said at the June 8 special City Council meeting.
"I would like to thank everybody for their patience and their understanding on this, but please realize that until June 3 ... we had no idea that there was anything on the horizon that would allow us as a city to put on an event like a Fourth of July celebration," Hastings said.
Hastings thanked Katy citizens for their patience and wished everyone well through the pandemic and recent protests.
"We are going to go on," he added "As your mayor, I leave you free to decide on attending the Fourth of July freedom celebration fireworks display. The Fourth of July celebration [has] always been very very dear to the hearts of everybody in the Katy area, and the citizens of Katy particularly."
Katy residents countered the city's initial decision to cancel the event by highlighting the lack of concern for social distancing and the pandemic during recent protests against police brutality held at Katy Park in response to George Floyd's death.
The Katy for Black Lives Matter Protest, organized by three Katy ISD rising seniors, attracted about 2,000 people June 4, local law enforcement said.
However, the Black Lives Matter protests were held outside of the city's jurisdiction, according to city of Katy officials.
"I want to commend everyone including the [Katy] Police Department, Chief [Noe] Diaz for handling not only something that was trying and concerning citizens, but something that was important to our democracy and people exercising their First Amendment," Council Member Frank O. Carroll said. "I'm very proud of the city for balancing not only the right to protest, but also a right to keep people safe."
Carroll said though Katy has not been majorly impacted by COVID-19, officials are still trying to carefully navigate a pandemic and comply with local, state and national guidelines.
"Despite the fact that we've had promising outcomes in the city of Katy and we haven't had widespread illness and death in this community, ... we're not taking anything for granted," Carroll said. "I would encourage the city to offer grace to city officials, to the mayor's office, as we try to navigate these trying times."
